Pro Wrestling Syndicate 5th Year Anniversary Night One DVD Review

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-Taped from Rahway, New Jersey

-Adam Cole and Davey Richards vs. The Briscoe Brothers (Mark and Jay Briscoe)

Match in Five Words or Less: At Least They Got Paid

Match Highlights: Well, let’s see. We’ve got no announcers, no hard cam, and a whopping one camera. This DVD is off to a fantastic start. This is the opener because none of the four men are allowed to be on another company’s iPPV because if they did appear, Ring of Honor would turn into a giant pumpkin. Lights are turned off DURING ring introductions so the ring lights can be turned on. What a winner of a show I’ve picked already. Cole is in full heel mode right from the start as he claims a hair pull from Mark. Quick armbar by the younger Briscoe. Shoulder tackle by Cole. He rolls over and gets armdragged. A second one. Headlock takeover. Jay tags and whips Cole. Blind charge misses. Here comes Mr. Richards. Shoulder tackle goes nowhere. Criss cross and a dropkick by Richards. Mark meets the same fate. Punt to the chest of Jay. Mark catches his leg and drives him into the side of the ring. Cole knocked off the apron and stomps by Mark. Jabs in the corner. Vertical suplex. Double shoulder tackle. Cole trips Jay up. Richards knocks Mark off the apron, and we have a heat segment. Richards and Cole mock their opponents. Jay punches and elbows his way out of the corner. Diving tag to Mark and we get some redneck kung fu. Richards delivers a knee to the gut. Mark flips over. Dropkick. T-bone suplex. Running clothesline on Cole. Palm strike and iconoclasm get two. Bodyslam. Richards holds onto Mark. Shove and Cole catches him with a superkick. 1-2-NO! Mark with right hands. Alarm clock. Cole gets a German suplex but Jay double stomps him. Kick from Richards. Chokeslam turned into a roll-up and then anklelock. Cole hits a superkick on Mark. DVD into his knee for two. Mark rolls Cole up and gets three.

Match Analysis: Nothing like a Ring of Honor finish to really get things rolling on this show. In Ring of Honor, this would have been a four star classic. In this federation, it’s a goofy opener with neither team showing a great amount of effort in the ring. Still, the action was decent given the time, but it definitely didn’t meet the high expectations set by all four men.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The Briscoes/8:00/**3/4

-Alex Reynolds vs. AR Fox

Match in Five Words or Less: Ready To Evolve?

Match Highlights: Reynolds teases Fox with kicks in the early going. To the mat they go. Japanese armdrag from Fox. Reynolds gets his boots up out of the corner. Dropkick by Fox. Asai moonsault gets two. Reynolds tries sending Fox out. Fox tries skinning the cat but gets dropkicked. Reynolds teases a dive but flips the fans off instead. That was good. Dropkick by Fox. This time, he delivers on a promised dive. He goes for something off the apron but has his leg grabbed. Kick away and the springboard moonsault to the floor. Reynolds grabs Fox coming in and hits a gutbuster. Front first into the buckle goes Fox. Right hands to the midsection. Knee in response by Reynolds. Pair of knee drops. He shifts to stretching Fox’s upper body. Another knee drop misses. Chops from Fox. Knee in response by Reynolds. Slingshot back suplex. Boots from Fox out of the corner. 450 but he rolls through. Charge by Reynolds misses. Springboard dropkick by Fox. Running clothesline. Dropkick as he comes back in the ring. Shooting star cannonball. Sliced bread countered. Reynolds drives Fox down with his feet. Roll-up position but he gets two. Forearm exchange. Boot misses by Reynolds. Roll-up for two by Fox. Rolling death valley driver. 450 splash. 1-2-NO! Boot by Fox. Reynolds is guillotined across the top rope. Enziguri from outside the ring by Fox. Springboard 450 misses. 2K1 bomb into a stunner gets three.

Match Analysis: Reynolds going over one of the hottest prospects in indy wrestling is certainly an interesting choice, but he made a good accounting of himself. He showed a bit more personality than he has in Evolve, which is a good thing in my opinion. Fox continues to have quality matches with all sorts of opponents. He’s really become a personal favorite of mine regardless of which federation he’s working for.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Alex Reynolds/10:23/***

-Hope you all enjoyed those first two matches because it’s time to take a one way bungee jump to hell.

-Tag Team Gauntlet-PWS Tag Team Championship: The Nasty Boys (Jerry Sags and Brian Knobs) vs. Marc Modest and Mike Mattixx, Enhancement Talent vs. Phat Pack and Team Energy (Mike Magnum and Louis Flames)

Match in Five Words or Less: Nasty Indeed

Match Highlights: Know why graphics and announcers and professional DVDs matter? BECAUSE I CAN’T IDENTIFY HALF THE PEOPLE IN THIS MATCH WITHOUT LOOKING UP THEIR NAMES ON THE INTERNET. I’m just thankful Brian Knobs is so fat, he can be identified real easily. Speaking of fat, the only thing fatter than Knobs is the egos of the Nasty Boys. Team Enhancement starts off with Knobs and Sags. At least their gimmick is being jobbers, but I think I got more offense on the Undertaker in “extra hard” mode of Wrestlemania 2000. Sags hits a pumphandle slam to get the victory. Knobs slams the other guy down on the other side for whatever reason. The beating continues as Team Energy come out. The poor official gets tossed to the outside. I think the Angolans faired better against the 1992 Dream Team than Team Energy did against Saggs and Knobbs. I guess the Nasty Boys got disqualified because GOD FORBID they do a job. I guess that would damage their legendary reputation. Mattixx and Modest come in. At least they sort of look like a real tag team. Things finally settle down with Modest and Mattixx maintaining the advantage. I would love to be able to tell you who’s in the ring at any given time, but the only sound I’ve got is a crowd who only cared when the Nasty Boys were beating dudes up. Mattixx at least has the common decency to wear his name on his tights. Team Energy has matching pants that can only be described as joggers. I hope PWS pays well so they can get wrestling gear at some point. HA HA. One of them gets pantsed. This segment legitimately goes on for what feels like hours, and it’s baaaaaaad. Mattix hits a headbutt…maybe a splash? Anyway, Team Energy is done. Then a really fat team comes out cause that’s what this match needs. Jesus Christ that’s PN news singing them to the ring. They rap to the ring to a rather lukewarm… okay, they’re being told to shut up. Team Energy attacks, but the fat guys use their girth to get on the offense. They’re supposed to be babyfaces, but the crowd seems much more interested in booing them. They’re chanting “diabetes.” I’d like to chant “pot calling the kettle black,” but I don’t think I can get the rhythm of that right. Ugly samoan drop from the fat guys as the crowd chants “This is awful.” Hard to disagree. Ox Baker has wandered to ringside amidst all this. Hey, it’s Brittney Savage. She distracts the white fat dude long enough for his partner to be sent out to the ring. Series of superkicks and we have new champions.

Match Analysis: This was the longest 12 minutes of my life. What a terrible match that failed in every conceivable way. The crowd hated it. There were a lot of botches. None of the wrestlers were any good, and it was amazingly disorganized on top of everything else combined with two bad finishes. Guess what this gets?

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: NEW PWS Tag Team Champions-Team Energy/12:24/DUD

-Samuray Del Sol vs. Mil Mascaras

Match in Five Words or Less: El Squash

Match Highlights: After that last match, a 70 year old man stepping in the ring has to be considered an upgrade. Mascaras dominates Del Sol with a number of basic moves and tosses. Series of rolling headscissors. Shoulder tackle as Mascaras moves in slow motion. Hip toss. Whip across. Weak clothesline. Another whip. Clothesline. Oof. Del Sol is literally doing all the work. I know I’ve never stepped in the ring before, but he’s bumping around and selling to the absolute best of his ability. Bodyslam into a modified bow and arrow. Mascaras continues tossing Del Sol around. Test of strength won by… I’ll let you all guess. Flying headbutt ends this joke of a match. I think the Mighty Ducks got more offense against Iceland in the first game of D2 than Del Sol did in this match.

Match Analysis: I understand Mascaras is 70 years old, but he literally did nothing in this match. Del Sol got no offense in and was made to look like a jobber. I know he’s not a Mexican legend, but the guy has worked hard enough to the point where he deserves better than to be put in a joke of a match. That’s two in a row if you’re keeping track.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Mil Mascaras/5:10/DUD

-2 Cold Scorpio vs. Vader

Match in Five Words or Less: Who’s Time?

Match Highlights: Vader asks what time it is. I wish I could help him out but I’m watching this show two months after the fact. A bit of stalling before they lock up. Tease of a test of strength before they lock up again. Into the corner and Vader breaks clean. Quick shove and taunting. Another shove but Scorpio kips up. Short clothesline but Scorpio doesn’t go down. Scorpio responds. Stiff short clothesline by Vader. Wow. Scorpio with a shot to the face. Clothesline sends Scorpio down. Shoulder tackle by Scorpio fails. Body shots and a kick. Running splash by Vader. Shots in the corner. Clothesline. Low kick and shot to the face. Chinlock before transitioning into what appears to be a key lock. More stretching. Jabs from Scorpio. Bodyslam attempt fails. A second one and Vader ends up on top for two. Chokeslam. Cover for two. Elbow drop misses. Low kicks and a dropkick from Scorpio. Clothesline off the middle rope. Moonsault misses. Slam by Vader. VADER BOMB! 1-2-3!

Match Analysis: This was certainly better than the previous two matches, but that’s not saying a whole lot. At least both guys can go at a reasonable level, and nothing here was outright embarrassing. I question why Scorpio got nearly no offense, but this could be seen by viewers as a fun trip down memory lane. For a 58 year old husky gentlemen, Vader didn’t look that bad. The mask and type of offense he uses certainly help.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Vader/9:33/*1/2

-Devon Moore and Jay Lethal attack Scorpio after the match. Vader comes back with a chair to clear the ring. Why would he need a chair? For that dude, his mere presence would cause me to run away for my life. This was clearly done to set up the tag team match the next night.

-Devon Moore and Kevin Matthews vs. Dan Maff and Tommy Dreamer

Match in Five Words or Less: Generic Brawling

Match Highlights: The match starts out briefly as Moore against Maff. Moore is in full heel mode as he cowers away and takes a beating. Maff hits a sweet cannonball into the corner. Vicious blue thunder powerbomb and here comes Kevin Matthews to double team Maff. Tommy Dreamer (w/theme music) jogs to the ring. Moore and Matthews clear the ring. Dreamer takes some time to point out Matthews as apparently being one of the bookers of the promotion and also says how much Matthews sucked while he was in WWE. That’s one way to put over your opponent. Eventually, a match made, and it’s no disqualification. House lights come up, and all four men take a tour of the Rahway Rec Center. Dreamer finally sends Moore back in the ring and hits a reverse DDT. Dreamer asks for a chair, and a fan obliges. Up top he goes but Moore crotches him. Blind charge misses and he ends up in the tree of woe. Dropkick of the chair back in Moore’s face. Meanwhile Matthews collapses a security gate with Dan Maff’s body. Dreamer brings a table to ringside. Dreamer gives Moore the lightest DVD through a table you’ll ever see. Maff tosses Matthews back in the ring. Chop in the corner. Running back splash followed by a cannonball in the corner. He calls for the burning hammer. Matthews fights out of it. Strike exchange. Chair shot right to the head by Matthews. Flatliner through the chair. Clothesline on Dreamer. Dreamer hits a DDT on Matthews. Cover but Lethal pulls the referee out. Dreamer goes after him. Lethal nails a superkick. Matthews picks him up and hits a rolling flatliner.

Match Analysis: Just a mediocre brawl that at least made sense in that Matthews is challenging for the PWS title the next night. Moore basically did the most work and bumping in this match, but he was forgotten about in the end. This was every generic hardcore match you’ve ever seen. Considering Tommy Dreamer was involved, I can’t say I’m surprised.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Kevin Matthews and Devin Moore/14:38/**

-The Sheik, Apollyon, QT Marshall, and George South vs. Taka Suzuki, Koko B Ware, Mike Dennis, and Star Man

Match in Five Words or Less: Clusterfuck

Match Highlights: These have to be the most random teams in the history of pro wrestling, right? I can identify some of the men in this match, and I don’t care much for one of them (Sheik). The set comes down as the babyfaces come out, which is either the highlight or lowlight of the show depending on your point of view. George South cuts a generic heel promo that shows why his last name is indeed a geographic region. Babyfaces go on the apron. Mike Dennis… okay I’m assuming the non-Japanese non-star costume wearer… starts briefly before bringing in Suzuki. He gets whipped in the corner. As he tries battling out of the corner, Suzuki is crotched along the medal ringpost. Heat segment. The crowd wants Star Man. Quick hot tag to Star Man. Quick forearm and straight dropkick leads to a two count. Dennis comes back in with a clubbering blow. Uppercut and forearm. Back elbow off the ropes as the crowd chants for Star Man. Tag back in. Double sledge but he eats a mid level superkick. Star Man tags Dennis before getting into too much trouble. Offense on Apollyon. Back drop on Marshall. Suzuki and Star man clothesline Marshall over. Dives by each man. Ware and South chase around on the outside. Weak chair shot on South. Sheik spits something in his partner’s eyes. Dennis rolls Apollyon up for the victory. Ware gives him a stink face after the match. The crack camera guy of course provides a great view of that. Ware gives one to the referee too.

Match Analysis: This was hot garbage. Plain and simple. No flow. Weak offense. No organization whatsoever. This show has the potential to shorten lives.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Team Ware/4:12/*

-Five Dollar Wrestling Championship: Freight Train (champion) vs. Dynomite

Match in Five Words or Less: No Words

Match Highlights: I’m not providing commentary for this sucker as unlike most of the matches on the card, this is actually supposed to be bad. Train wins with what can generously be called a roll-up in a very short match. Jake Manning as the special referee enforcing the rules and selling was a clear highlight of the entire show.

Match Analysis: Look, I understand the appeal of 5 Dollar Wrestling in much the same way people enjoy bad horror or science fiction. However, to include this match on a show with legends and legitimately talented indy wrestlers is probably a bad idea to begin with. Ironically enough, many people in the crowd seemed more into this than a lot of the other matches on the card. I’m not quite sure what that says. I don’t feel comfortable rating this because the intention was not at all to put on a good piece of professional wrestling.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL Five Dollar Wrestling Champion/2:39/N/R

-Brittney Savage vs. Veda Scott

Match in Five Words or Less: Savagely Bad

Match Highlights: I mean no disrespect to these girls, but THIS is the semi-main event? Crowd establishes they don’t want to see this match right from the start even as Scott goes on offense. Whip in the corner. Charge misses. Savage tears her down…and it looks bad. Kick to the side and choking along the middle rope. Dropkick in the back. Savage hits a clothesline off the Irish whip. Interesting looking strikes and some choking in the corner. Kick and a running boot. Neckbreaker. Boston crab. Scott gets a roll-up…sort of… for two. Knee and elbows by Scott. Clotheslines. Whip in the corner and a running clothesline. Bulldog for two. Here come the tag team champions. Mattixx trips Scott up. Leaping cutter by Savage gets her the win.

Match Analysis: Another bad match in a series of them. “At least it was short” has practically become the mantra of this show. Savage’s offense was almost as bad if not worse than Dynomite’s. Also gotta love the fact that we have another finish with some interference or miscommunication attached to it. I think that makes three or four for the night. To say I’m not impressed with this show right now would be a bigger understatement than “The Dark Knight Rises made a lot of money at the box office.”

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Brittney Savage/3:50/1/2*

-Tony Nese (PWS Tri-State Champion) and Sami Calihan (PWS Heavyweight Champion) vs. KAI and The Great Muta

Match in Five Words or Less: At Least They Tried

Match Highlights: I’ve never been so happy to see these four men in my entire life. Muta kicks Calihan and this match is underway. Brawl around ringside as Muta tosses Calihan into the post. Chair to the chest. Boot to the head and right hand as they head back in the ring. Snapmare and elbow drop to a nice pop from the crowd. Sleeper hold. Kai boots Calihan and hits a dropkick. Uppercut. Whip in the corner followed by running knees. Battle on the top rope. Sunset bomb attempt but KAI holds on. Low superkick to the leg by Calihan. Nese enters. Duck of the clothesline. Pair of kicks and an enziguri. Whip into the corner and solid back elbow. Running knee strike for two. Series of strikes. Kai counters and gets a German suplex. Muta with a dragon screw legwhip. Into a half figure four leglock. Stomp as the hold is broken. Reverse figure four as Muta lays down. Another leg whip. Kick from KAI and a bodyslam. Double stomp gets two. Nese strikes back. Uppercuts from KAI. Nese trips him up. Springboard moonsault. Hot tag to Calihan. Clotheslines. Uppercut by KAI. Whip in the corner. Charge misses. Enziguri by Calihan. Running face wash and a cover for two. Springboard clothesline and tope suicida by Calihan. Quickly back in the ring. Big splash misses. Boot from Calihan on Muta. Running clothesline. LARIAT off the ropes. Nese taken up and over. Double team by the champions. Nese splashes Muta. KAI breaks the cover. Uppercuts. Calihan hits a DVD as Nese hits a superkick. Referee gets knocked out in the chaos. Chair shot on Calihan Nese from behind. KAI superkicks Nese. Bicycle kick by Calihan. Calihan now goes for the chair. Cause that’s what this show needed. Muta with mist. Shining wizard. Done. Thank God.

Match Analysis: When even the main event of the show can’t have a clean finish considering who’s involved, there’s a problem. If nothing else, these four were certainly a million times better than half the “talent” on this show. Nese in particular showed a lot of athleticism and brought fire. I give credit to him for really giving it his all here. Considering how short the match was and the ending combined with some awkward flow, it’s tough to even recommend giving this match watch however. For this card, the match was good. By a lot of other measureable standards, this was barely passable.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The Great Muta and KAI/11:36/**1/4

The Verdict: Pro Wrestling Syndicate seems to want to be a lot of things. They want to honor legends while on the other hand showcasing some of the top level indy talent in world. They allow the folks from 5 five dollar wrestling to present a match while also presenting some of their barely passable local talent as real wrestlers. Until they establish a firm identity, you’re going to get a lot of mish mashed shows like this.Ten matches in 2.5 hours is borderline absurd. Just for the poor production values and lack of guidance while watching this DVD alone, this is a thumbs down. Unfortunately for PWS, there’s also the poor match quality and horrendous finishes that happen up and down this show. I don’t forsee many future PWS show reviews forthcoming, but I’ll give the promotion one more chance with night two of the anniversary weekend.

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